European Capital Invests Euro 12.5 Million in Tiama
17/10/2007 19:14
PR Newswire
ST. PETER PORT, Guernsey, October 17 /PRNewswire/ --
ECAS S.a.r.l, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of European Capital
Limited (LSE: ECAS) ("European Capital") announced today that it has invested
euro 12.5 million (US$17 million) in Tiama, a world leader in the design of
in-line inspection devices for product quality control. The investment was
led by the Paris office of European Capital Financial Services Limited
("European Capital Services"), the sub-investment manager of European
Capital, and supports LBO France's acquisition of Tiama. European Capital's
investment takes the form of mezzanine debt and second lien debt. LFPI
Gestion is also providing mezzanine debt.
"LBO France is a highly regarded European private equity firm and it is a
pleasure for the Paris team to partner with them for the third time," said
Jean Eichenlaub, Managing Director of European Capital Services. "Tiama is a
world-class company at the forefront of the development of in-line inspection
devices. We believe in the leadership of the Company's exceptional management
team, which possesses a strong vision and the demonstrated ability to execute
it."
European Capital has invested euro 1.7 billion (US$2.4 billion) in the
last twelve months, euro 1.5 billion (US$2.1 billion) year to date and euro
56 million (US$79 million) quarter to date. For more information about
European Capital's portfolio, go to
http://www.ECAS.com/our_portfolio/portfolio.html.
"Tiama is the undisputed world market leader of in-line inspections for
glass container manufacturers, the number one European provider of in-line
inspections for the automobile industry and the number one French provider of
in-line inspections for the food and beverage industry," said Tristan
Parisot, Director of European Capital Services. "Heavily focused on research
and development, Tiama is the sole player covering all existing technologies
in glass inspection. Its asset-lite culture enables it to continually develop
new technologies and respond to the unique needs of its customers. While
holding commanding market positions in Europe, Tiama has established
commercial presences on every continent including in the fastest growing
emerging markets in China, Eastern Europe, Latin America and elsewhere."
"Tiama enjoys excellent brand recognition, a superlative reputation for
quality and strong customer loyalty in a sector with exceptionally high
barriers to entry," said Etienne Haubold, Director of European Capital
Services. "Tiama is poised for sustained and accelerated growth driven
especially by its continual updating of its inspection machines, its
expanding presence in developing regions and its identification of promising
acquisition opportunities."
Founded in 1963, Tiama is a leading designer of highly automated in-line
inspection devices which examine products on manufacturing lines. The Company
uses a vision based process, employing cameras connected to monitoring
software that compares products to target patterns. Tiama provides inspection
equipment for both the hot and cold ends of glass-container manufacturing as
well as for automotive and food and beverage production lines. Tiama is
expected to achieve approximately euro 66 million in revenue in 2007. Tiama's
major customers include Owens Illinois, Saint-Gobain, Toyota and Nestle.
Headquartered in Lyon, France, Tiama also operates out of Rennes, France.
"European Capital has earned an outstanding reputation as a
cost-effective, flexible and agile provider of financing for middle market
companies and it has amply demonstrated the validity of that reputation in
Tiama," said Edouard Marienbach, Tiama CEO.
ABOUT EUROPEAN CAPITAL
European Capital is a publicly traded investment company for pan-European
equity, mezzanine and senior debt investments with capital resources of
approximately euro 2.3 billion (US$3.2 billion). It is managed by European
Capital Financial Services (Guernsey) Limited ("ECFSG" or "the Investment
Manager"), a wholly-owned affiliate of American Capital Strategies, Ltd
("American Capital").
European Capital invests in and sponsors management and employee buyouts,
invests in private equity buyouts and provides capital directly to private
and public companies headquartered predominantly in Europe. European Capital
generally invests between euro 5 million and euro 500 million per transaction
in equity, mezzanine debt and senior debt to fund growth, acquisitions and
recapitalizations.
The investment objective of European Capital is to provide investors with
dividend income and the potential for share value appreciation by investing
in debt and equity investments in private and public companies headquartered
primarily in Europe. European Capital seeks to achieve this through pursuing
the following types of investments:
European Capital One Stop Buyouts(TM)
Through our One Stop Buyouts(TM), European Capital provides equity,
mezzanine debt and senior debt as the lead investor in the buyout of private
and public companies.
Mezzanine Direct with Sponsors
European Capital provides debt and equity financing for buyouts sponsored
by private equity firms where European Capital is either the sole or lead
mezzanine debt investor.
Syndicated Mezzanine and Senior Debt
European Capital provides mezzanine and senior financing for buyouts
sponsored by private equity firms where European Capital is neither the sole
nor lead mezzanine or senior debt investor.
Direct Investments
European Capital provides debt and equity financing directly to private
and public companies, which is used for growth, acquisitions or
recapitalizations, and investing in structured finance vehicles.
Companies interested in learning more about European Capital's flexible
financing should contact Jean Eichenlaub at +33(0)140-68-0666 in Paris,
Nathalie Faure Beaulieu or Simon Henderson at +44(0)20-7539-7000 in London,
Robert von Finckenstein at +49(0)69-7171-2970 in Frankfurt, or Luis Felipe
Castellanos at +34-91-745-9963 in Madrid, or visit the website at
http://www.EuropeanCapital.com.
ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL
American Capital Strategies Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS) is an affiliate of
European Capital and the only alternative asset management company that is a
member of the S? 500. With US$16 billion in assets under management(1),
including its investments in externally managed funds, American Capital is
the largest U.S. publicly traded private equity fund and one of the largest
publicly traded alternative asset managers. American Capital, both directly
and through its global asset management business, is an investor in
management and employee buyouts, private equity buyouts, and early stage and
mature private and public companies. American Capital provides senior debt,
mezzanine debt and equity to fund growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations and
securitizations. American Capital and its affiliates invest from US$5 million
to US$800 million per company in North America and euro 5 million to euro 500
million per company in Europe.
ABOUT LBO FRANCE
Established in 1985, Paris headquartered LBO France is an independent
private equity firm. Since its inception, the private equity firm has
invested in more than 60 companies for a total cumulated enterprise value of
euro 10 billion. LBO France has over euro 1.5 billion under management. LBO
France has completed some of the largest buyouts in France including Actaris,
a leading manufacturer and designer of water, power and gas metering systems,
Nexity, a property development firm, Terreal, a manufacturer of clay tiles
and bricks and Cegelec, a leading international engineering group providing
electrical contracting services for industrial, infrastructure and
non-residential projects. European Capital's London office supported LBO
France's November 2005 acquisition of Terreal and the Paris office supported
LBO France's April 2006 acquisition of Cegelec and its January 2007
acquisition of Biscuits Poult, the leader in the French private label biscuit
market.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. The statements
regarding expected results of European Capital and/or American Capital are
subject to various factors and uncertainties, including the uncertainties
associated with the timing of transaction closings, changes in interest
rates, availability of transactions, changes in regional, national or
international economic conditions, or changes in the conditions of the
industries in which European Capital and/or American Capital has made
investments.
(1) Assets Under Management is an estimate of internally and externally
managed assets as of September 30, 2007 and does not include any fair
value adjustments subsequent to June 30, 2007.
Web site: http://www.europeancapital.com
http://www.americancapital.com
Jean Eichenlaub, Managing Director, +33(0)140-68-0666, Tristan Parisot, Director, +33(0)140-68-0666, Etienne Haubold, Director, +33(0)140-68-0666, or Marie Bal, Communication Manager, +33(0)140-68-6866, all of European Capital Services